


the futures in past

by undoubtful



Series: once upon a dream [1]
Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Fluff, M/M, Mild Language, Pining, Soulmate AU, The AU no one asked for, kinda obvious but endgame, set during late summer, side jigyu, they see it in their dreams, yes a lot of pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-04
Updated: 2018-05-16
Packaged: 2019-04-18 11:17:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 16,453
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14211981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/undoubtful/pseuds/undoubtful
Summary: one sees the past, the other sees the future.still, seeing something through your soulmate's eyes isn't as convenient as it sounds.





	1. prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> literally have no idea where the title came from but .HEY it’s That soulmate au that has been sitting in the back of my mind for ages. my previous and first fic still has a lot of mini stories i want to attach but here’s a whole new idea instead! i’ll try my best not to drag this out for too long but please bear in mind that i’m still planning the general outline of where this is gonna go haha i was just so excited to get this out there
> 
> please enjoy this prologue first bahahahhdjs i love these idiots to death
>
>> sidenote: these ages are the “western ages” or uh idk what to call it..but basically they turn their age on their actual birthday. cos like yk how the korean age system thing works and stuff

The moment his head hits the pillow, he’s up in dreamland.

Soonyoung has seen this woman all too many times before. He assumes it’s his soulmate’s mother, but since these dreams come without audio, he couldn’t tell properly. From the eyes of a three-foot-seven boy, she looked quite intimidating, in the middle of what seemed to be a scolding.

He really wished there was a fast forward button sometimes. Boring dreams like this didn’t get him anywhere in terms of finding out who his soulmate was to be. This kid rarely had interesting memories and led a pretty normal life.

Soonyoung has only turned twenty-one recently. In fact, it has only been about less than three months since then, which means he has only been having these dreams for that time as well. He distinctly remembers praying hard that he wouldn’t get the past visions, but he did, anyway.

It wasn’t that bad in the long run. After all, no matter what happens, there’s a 98.5% chance of him meeting his soulmate anyway. He was just going to cling onto that. (No one speaks of the remaining 1.5%, it never goes well for them in more ways than one.)

His mother and father told him their own tales—albeit, one too many times—as young adults: both of them had gotten past visions but met so soon that they didn’t dream much, considering they were almost the same age. His aunt, however, turned out to be two years older than her soulmate and had been dreaming about her future a good two years in advance before meeting her current husband seven years later.

If Soonyoung were to be honest, a lot of this is just a load of nonsense. Why was this a thing? How did this become a thing? Genetic mutation had surely not gone that far, had it?

Still, he had to live with it. Whether or not it was something he wanted was not up to him; it wasn’t a choice, he was just born with it.

Soonyoung awakens from the dream a good four hours later. He checks his phone—06:15. It’s barely enough sleep, but he gets by. The summer job doesn’t work itself. (Though, he really wish it did.)

* * *

“What’s the point of having these dreams when I get literally, like, five minutes of it a night? Can anything interesting even happen in five minutes?” Soonyoung half-heartedly stacks cans of peas into the shelves of the supermarket, the other half of his heart preoccupied with grogginess.

His co-worker chuckles from behind him, accompanied by the sound of cans of mushrooms being stacked. “You’ll be surprised. Be patient, something might come around.”  _Jeonghan hyung sounds like an old man..._

_Lucky idiot met his soulmate when they were kids._ Soonyoung wants to scoff.

“You don’t know the pain of waiting, hyung. _Some of us_ don’t have the privilege of instant gratification.”

“Do you really have to keep bringing that up?”

“Yes.”

The day goes by _oh so_ slowly. Summer was supposed to be fun with friends and going to the beach or _something_ along those lines, but here Soonyoung was, working an eight-hour shift at minimum wage so that he could get his hands on the concert ticket of his dreams.

Jeonghan bids him a farewell and exits the break room. “See you tomorrow, kid.”

_Pfft. Kid. Mister one-year-older-than-me hyung._ Soonyoung is shoving his vest into his tiny locker as neatly as he can—in other words, not at all—when his phone burps out a small _beep_.

**jihoonie >:(**

_soon-ah, soju tonight?_  
16:12

_your place?_  
16:13

_duh, where else do you get to drink soju for free?_  
16:14

_who’s coming?_  
16:14

_mingyu and shua hyung_  
16:16

_see you_  
16:21

He should’ve known that Mingyu would be there. Not that he had anything against it, just that it was weird to him to get into a relationship with someone who you didn’t know would be your “soulmate” or not. (Joshua and Jihoon have had a heated argument about it before, poor Mingyu watched in horror.)

Soonyoung has never been in a relationship. Even if the dreams didn’t happen, he doesn’t see himself as one to stay still and sustain one anyway. It’s tiring and takes a lot of work and selflessness—something he knew he didn’t have quite yet.

When he arrives at Jihoon’s house, it’s nearly seven in the evening and the sun is slowly setting. The commute today was faster than usual, so fast that he had almost missed his stop when he fell asleep on the bus.

“You’re early,” Jihoon breathes when the door opens, a freakishly tall Kim Mingyu standing not far behind.

Soonyoung raises an eyebrow. “You said tonight. It is, as you can see,” he points to the sky above him, “night.”

“Right,” Jihoon clears his throat. He turns to retreat into the home, Mingyu tagging behind him like the giant puppy he is. Soonyoung sighs, neatly arranging his shoes at the entrance of the home.

It’s more of a trudge than a walk to the kitchen and dining area. Four bottles are neatly lined up in the refrigerator when he opens it to check. “We should order some chicken,” he announces. Mingyu excitedly bounces on the balls of his feet, volunteering to order them over the phone.

Jihoon props himself up on the kitchen island counter. “While _he_ does that, what’s up with _you_ these days?” He flicks the back of Soonyoung’s head.

Soonyoung doesn’t flinch and instead flicks his best friend’s forehead back. “I really didn’t need that, but you sure did,” he pouts, leaning over the counter and propping his head up on his hand. “I don’t know. The dreams just really suck. They’re so mundane. It’s him in school, him in the house, him out with his family,” he counts each of them on his fingers.

“You seemed pretty excited about getting them, though.”

“Yeah, but that was ages ago! Why does it seem like mine is in chronological order? It’s been three months and I’ve gotten a total screen time from this guy’s life of about the equivalent of the amount of patience I’ve got left,” Soonyoung groans in despair as his head hits the cold marble.

“Hey, do you think your soulmate sees the past, or the future?” Jihoon wonders out loud.

God, Soonyoung really hopes it’s the past. He didn’t want to bear suffering like this alone. He wanted to at least try to drag his soulmate along with him. “I really hope it’s the past,” he mumbles, breath hot on the countertop. “Although,” the boy looks up in thought, “I’d like to ask him about our future, too, if ever.”

“Are you even sure it’s a guy?”

Soonyoung pauses. “I’ve seen it, don’t worry.”

“Well,” Jihoon urges, “what else have you seen, though?”

“It’s... mostly his parents. Which, of course, I would expect from a child. I notice how he’s getting older, though, based on how his parents act towards him. One thing’s for sure, I’d recognize his parents before I recognize him. I’ve only seen his face once while he brushed his teeth in front of a mirror.”

“Interesting... I hope the future comes for me two months from now.”

“Speaking of which, do you think Mingyu’s the one?” Soonyoung has always been worried ever since the two started dating a little more than a year ago. This relationship could go in two totally different ways.

Jihoon shrugs. “Whether or not I see something that changes things or not, I don’t think it changes the fact that I really like him. We’ll see how it plays out.”

“Chicken’s on the way!” Mingyu interrupts the conversation with a small dance into the kitchen. He spots Jihoon perched atop the counter, now the same height as he is. “Aw, I can kiss you better this way,” he grins, giving a small peck to Jihoon’s nose. The response is a nose scrunch and a small “stop it”.

“I agree, please, _stop it_.” Soonyoung gags.

_Yeah, Lee Jihoon would have to like you a whole lot to even get your face that close to his._

_I hope I can say I’ll feel the same for toothbrush kid._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uhh totally not sure when i’ll be able to update this not because i’m busy but because i want to make sure that it all makes sense and is coherent (and possibly disgustingly cute) BUT i will do my best so see y’all then !! wonu’s probably gonna make a legitimate appearance lmaosjjskjd


	2. stalker stories

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i finally have the outline of this story on track so updates will most likely be weekly! :) it took quite a bit of willpower to write this chapter actually mainly because i HECKING LOVE MINGHAO SO MUCH and i was all heart eyes for him in the past week so

“Hyung, love is hard, isn’t it?” Wonwoo peeks at his roommate whose face is barely visible, buried in the world of Instagram.

Said roommate shrugs. “I don’t know, Wonwoo. I don’t get dreams myself, but from what I’ve heard, it’s complicated.”

Joshua was seriously not having any of it today. All Wonwoo wanted was some soulmate advice, but instead got dead-end answers and monotone statements.

Every dream he’s had so far was just a future where he almost always sees himself—meaning that the future that awaited him also awaited his soulmate. They were going to spend the rest of their lives together, and from the looks of their ages, it was going to start soon.

“But, in your opinion,” Wonwoo pauses, “do you think it’s possible to like—or love—someone you’ve never even met?”

Joshua sighs, “If this is about that time you saw yourself making out with your soulmate again, I don’t want to hear it.”

“Hey, it’s not! Plus, that never even happened.” Wonwoo glares, poking his hyung’s side from the other side of the couch with the ballpen in his hand. A second later, he’s disappeared into his room to escape a potential tickle war.

_I really should stop trying when he’s hungover like that._

There was not a day since he turned 21 wherein he did not write in his small, red notebook. It kept track of his experiences in dreamland, whether pleasant of not. During the past month or so, he’s been getting more pleasant ones, though. It was hard not to feel like they were real life, knowing that his own future was going to turn out like that.

Wonwoo wasn’t really excited to experience these dreams, but he _did_  look forward to them. As the very practical man he is, he didn’t want his future to dictate his present, and opted to lay low about the whole ordeal. After all, there was no telling of the exact time you meet your soulmate.

However, due to the surge of oddly pleasant string of dreams he’s had since July seventeenth, he really could _not_  lay low. Whoever this guy was had future Wonwoo absolutely _smitten_  and present Wonwoo knew it.

 _“Every time I see my face in those dreams... I look so fucking happy,”_ he told Joshua just last week. He could tell by his own voice that he was excited, but also shocked. Wonwoo had never seen himself look at someone with that much adoration. _“You know what happened, hyung?”_

_“Obviously not, idiot. Do enlighten me.”_

He read straight from his notebook. _“We were on the couch, I was leaning on him, and he brought out his phone.”_ Wonwoo paused to demonstrate the pose his dream self was in. _“When the small screen on his iPhone lit up, the wallpaper was a picture of a guy with a mask and a cap on a rooftop overlooking the city. He swiped to open the camera and suddenly, it was me and him on the screen. A square aspect ratio meaning this might go on Instagram. We snapped a few pictures together, and although I cant remember most of our poses, I distinctly remember one where he was smiling and I wasn’t.”_

Joshua’s eyebrows rose. _“Do you always write in that much detail?”_

 _“His face... wow, it was so cute. His eyes were basically nonexistent and his cheeks looked like bread buns. I can’t hear what his voice sounds like, but I imagine it to be really cute, too...”_ was the response, completely avoiding the question.

Wonwoo flips through his notebook, but everything is a blur—literally. He returns to the living space to retrieve his glasses perched on the coffee table.

Joshua, without looking up, immediately announces, “I picked those up for you. They fell out of your pocket, probably. So, can you get me a glass of water, please?”

(It wasn’t a question, it was a command. He knows that a hungover Joshua is not one to mess around with.) Without hesitation, Wonwoo grabs a glass of water from their quaint kitchen and places it on the table in front of the couch.

Once he’s back on his bed, he reads the latest entry from this morning. He dreamt that his soulmate was walking alone in a part of town that was eerily familiar to Wonwoo. He racked his brain for the answer, even resulting to Google maps two minutes later.

“There was a chicken restaurant there... I saw it,” he mumbles to himself.

Wonwoo gasps when he finds it.

* * *

The chicken restaurant wasn’t actually a chicken restaurant.

It was a barbecue place that he ate in a few weeks ago with his family for his birthday. Actually, Wonwoo doesn’t even know why he’s here. He doesn’t know why he expected to see his soulmate at an odd hour in the middle of the road just “coincidentally” when he knew that the chances were incredibly slim.

“Ah, this is a stretch. I should just be patient,” he sighs, a headache building up from the amount of people that swarmed around him on the busy Saturday afternoon.

He doesn’t like to admit it, but he really is tired of laying low and it’s only been _two months_. It would be easier for him to just meet his soulmate already and take it slow from there. This situation, however, was beginning to get annoying.

Sometimes, he tries to think about if is soulmate is beginning to get impatient as well. They’d probably talk about all their frustrations together once they meet, just talk and laugh for hours about anything and everything...

_Wow, we’re gonna be so cute._

A kid with her parents walks by. Wonwoo eyes her with envy as she stuffs her mouth with chips from a medium-sized bag of Doritos. _The perfect headache medicine._

He did not visit this place enough and had no idea where the stores were. It was a thirty-five minute walk that he definitely did not have to take when he had everything he needed nearer to their building. Wonwoo walked around aimlessly for just about a minute or so before declaring to nobody in particular, “I’m tired...”

Just when he’s about to give up and go home, there’s a decently sized supermarket that comes into view. (He almost makes a big deal out of it and cries, but his dignity mattered more than that.) Thanks to his long legs, he is able to brisk walk faster than he usually brisk walks.

_I’ll call this walk my emotionally-frustrated-brisk-walk._

When he steps into the supermarket, what greets him is the usual, brightly lit scene that you’d generally find in any other supermarket. It was pretty busy but definitely a less dense population than that of the outside world.

Wonwoo takes a good look at the aisle labels to find the one for international snacks. It’s located on the farther right side, so that’s where he heads. With every step he takes, he can feel his craving for cool ranch Doritos growing.

He arrives at the aisle and dashes for the big, blue bag. Once he picks one up, he takes a good, long look at it.

_No, this won’t do._

Suddenly, he’s carrying six bags of Doritos, the assortment of flavors evident as they are cradled in his arms (with some flavors doubled). “I should get some dip...” he purses his lips in thought.

A colorful array of jars of dip sit on the tall shelf. Wonwoo sucks in a breath. “Shit... Since when were there so many? Which one should I get? How many jars would I even need for this many chips?” He cocks his head to the side in thought.

(He doesn’t see it behind the wall of Doritos bags, but the stock clerk in front and below to the side is listening to his monologue, amused by his state of confusion concerning dips.)

Wonwoo is in deep, deep thought, seriously considering which dip to get that will match chips when a voice interrupts him. “Sir, would you like a basket for those?” A clerk (with hair that looks too short to be long but too long to be short) approaches him and offers one of the black baskets that sit near the entrance. He laughs quietly at himself for how ridiculous he must’ve looked.

“Ah,” he places the bags in the basket, “thank you.” Wonwoo offers a small smile, turns back to the dips and finally picks one off the shelf and examines it.

“Soonyoung-ah,” Wonwoo hears the man say (presumably, to the other clerk on his right who is busy in his own endeavors), “you’ve been restocking dips for fifteen minutes when the chips section is bare. This is why customers are overwhelmed by the dips.” His voice is almost scolding but at the same time in disbelief, as if disciplining a child.

Wonwoo continues to monitor their exchange from the corner of his eye while adding three dips to his basket. The clerk with the dips visibly flinches a little. “Sorry, hyung. I’ll go work on those chips now, heh.”

The Dip Stocker bends down to pick up the empty boxes resting by his foot. When Wonwoo looks down to check if he’s in the way, that’s when he spots Dip Stocker’s hands.

_Ice cream... Aren’t those the hands I see when he eats ice cream? When he’s typing a message on his phone? Rounded tip fingers. Slightly stubby... I sound like I have a hand fetish._

He doesn’t know what to do. His head is still tilted downward, eyes now averted to his basket while his heart begins to race in anticipation.

_It can’t be, though. What are the chances?_

All other thoughts from his mind suddenly disappear when he looks up from his basket and makes direct eye contact with Dip Stocker. Wonwoo’s knees lock in place. At this point, he only heard one thing run through his mind:

_Oh my god, you adorable human being._

It was at this exact moment when the image of those too thin excuse of a pair of eyes registered in Wonwoo’s brain. He doesn’t know what to say from shock, but before he can say anything anyway, guy with the short-long hair is trying to tug them away.

“Enjoy your day, sir!” Dip Stocker offers a big smile and bows his head slightly before waddling away with the bulky boxes.

Wonwoo looks away. He feels flustered just by looking at Dip Stocker’s face, and it surely does not help that Dip Stocker is a little _too_ familiar. He takes a deep breath and emotionally-frustrated-walks (not brisk—his knees are still too shaken up for that) to the cashier.

_I can’t make assumptions just yet._

* * *

“JOSHUA HYUNG!”

The sound of the door slamming resonates throughout the small apartment. Wonwoo hurriedly kicks off his shoes and tosses them atop all the other shoes he has kicked off in the past.

“Don’t shout. I’m right here.”

Wonwoo jumps, surprised when the voice comes from the the kitchen, right next to the entrance. “You surprised me,” he breathes, touching his heart and setting down his bag of goodies on the table.

“Says the one who _didn’t_ have a screaming twenty-one year old bursting into their apartment,” his roommate snorts. “I’m making dinner, if you’re interested.” Joshua takes a sip from the pot of soup on the small induction stove. “Dinner that is more water than it is soup, sadly.” He carries on with slow stirring motions (hoping that it magically does something to make the soup better if it looks like he knows what he’s doing).

“Listen, I think I found him,” Wonwoo drops his voice a tad quieter.

“Jesus?”

“No! Not Him, _him_.”

“Oh, _him_.” The older boy nods, though looking like he still has not caught on.

Wonwoo starts to laugh, knowing well that Joshua was just joking around. “My soulmate, hyung!”

Joshua grins at him and places a hand on his shoulder. “I-I’m so proud of you, son.” He watches an overly-dramatic Joshua pretend to ugly cry and envelope him in a bro-hug. “You did it, my son...”

Even though they only became roommates because of their parents’ friendship, Wonwoo was eternally grateful to live with someone sensible and understanding (although sometimes a total prick). They got along really well when Joshua arrived from LA a few years back, and now here they were—most of the time at each other’s necks, but now like real brothers.

“God, hyung... your soup is about to boil over,” Wonwoo notes, enjoying the look of panic on his hyung’s face when bubbles spill over the lip of the pot.

It isn’t until much later in the evening after dinner when they converse on the topic again. “So, how did you find him?” Joshua plops a Dorito into his mouth.

“Hey! I spent a lot of time choosing a dip. Try it,” Wonwoo pushes the three dips to the other side of the table. “I don’t want to get into it yet until I’m sure. Fuck, I can’t even remember his _name_  for god’s sake. I’m planning to see if he’s there tomorrow; you should come with me so I can show you where I saw him.”

Joshua shakes his head. “Sorry, I can’t. I haven’t told you this yet, but I’m leaving for LA on Monday, which means I have to pack my stuff tomorrow.”

“What, forever?!” Wonwoo’s jaw drops. “What about college? You still have a year left!”

“Wonwoo-yah, relax. No, not forever. I just have to sign some papers for insurance. I should be back in a week. I want to spend time with my family, too, before we get back to school soon,” Joshua smiles. “So,” he claps his hands together, “let’s have a drink when I get back. I’m inviting some of my friends. You’re too responsible as a drinking buddy.”

“Thanks, I try,” Wonwoo notes sourly, but offers a sweet smile at the thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> also . i want to tell you now that i am boo boo the fool my timeline for the prologue was messed up i literally went like “oh jihoon’s turning 21 next month” but soonyoung’s working a summer job NICE so i fixed that and i hope it kind of makes more sense now.
> 
> please feel free to leave feedback, and thank you also to those who have left kudos so far! it all helps me out a lot <3
> 
> UPDATE (4/20) hi i can’t do an update this week :( something important came up and i won’t be home often. sorry. be back soon.


	3. just to be sure

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> long-ish chapter ahead since it stretches across a period of time and also to make up for my absence ><
> 
> sidenote: i call shua “joshua” in this fic bcs he’s from america (i mean he rly is but u get my point) and it’s his real name anyway so . i just thought it would be more appropriate than jisoo

**Mom**

_Mom, I think I saw my soulmate today_  
_You’re probably asleep, but just letting you know_  
_I’ll tell you more when I’m sure_  
_Good night_  
23:43

Wonwoo smiles at the picture of him and his family he always keeps in his wallet. To other people, maybe it was kinda cheesy, but to him, they were the foundation of his personality. He always feels at ease when he thinks of them.

He falls asleep thinking about his mother’s reaction when she sees those messages in the morning with a smile plastered on his face.

* * *

_Wonwoo’s soulmate is on a train. He doesn’t know where it’s going, but the view outside indicates that it’s winter. A vast, white sheet of land stretches out indefinitely, a few trees equally as white zooming by. When he tears his eyes away from the window, they shift to his phone._

_The hands..._

_A navigation app indicates where they are currently; it clearly indicates that their destination is Changwon—Wonwoo’s hometown—and it’s around fifteen minutes away._

_Another hand that Wonwoo recognizes as his own takes the phone away. Dream-Wonwoo says something to his soulmate which Wonwoo is able to lip-read as something close to “don’t worry” and smiles. It’s somehow comforting and warm, which he finds odd to see coming from himself. Whatever it is that could be worried about, Wonwoo doesn't know._

_Dream-Wonwoo pokes his soulmates cheeks on one side, and the moment he does so, a smile stretches across his face. Wonwoo watches as he says something indecipherable and snaps a picture._

_They talk for a bit and munch on a few snacks until they arrive at Changwon. His dream counterpart leads the way out, clearly familiar with the place. They eventually spot his brother on his phone, waiting a few meters away._

_He hasn’t seen his brother in a few months, although notes how he’s still wearing the same pair of beat-up Converse he refuses to let go of, meaning it’s not far from the present._

_Unless, of course, those fragile pair of shoes miraculously make it past more than a year._

_His brother and his soulmate bow at each other, so it seems to be the first time they’re meeting. Wonwoo is beginning to get a feel of what’s really going on here. If dream version of him was nervous, he sure wasn’t showing it._

_His brother begins to (not so discreetly) look at his soulmate up and down, through and through, clearly judging. Dream-Wonwoo hits the back of his head, probably telling him to knock it off._

_Once the younger boy turns away, Wonwoo’s soulmate turns to say something to dream-Wonwoo, which he in turn laughs at. He doesn’t think he really will ever get used to that lovesick look on his face, especially when his soulmate leans in to give a small peck to his cheek._

* * *

“Wonwoo!”

Wonwoo’s eyes snap open and with it comes a groan.

_I’m going to kill him._

“I’m asleep, stop calling for me!” The _last_ thing he wants on earth these days is to wake up from a good dream.

He’s almost grateful that Joshua’s leaving for a week, he really wanted to take advantage and just sleep in. The man had a liking for waking him up just so that he could brag to their mothers about being “more responsible”.

“Why the hell would I take a picture of someone with my finger to their cheek?” Wonwoo mumbles to himself. He shuts his eyes and buries his face into his pillow to momentarily cry and also in the hopes of falling asleep again.

_I can’t believe Dip Stocker kissed me. That’s so cute. FOR WHY?_

Before three seconds of that passes, however, the door of his room is busted open with a loud bang. “I made breakfast. Hurry before it becomes noon so it can still be considered breakfast,” Joshua rips the blanket off of Wonwoo, who glares up at him.

“I’ll have breakfast when I _want_ to, thank you very much.”

Joshua flops onto the bed, grabbing the pillow his roommate hugged. He puts on the cutest pouty face he can manage. “Please?” He begs, and Wonwoo is not amused.

_I’m awake, now. No use trying to return to dreamland._

“If I eat your fucking breakfast, will you stop doing that ridiculous face?”

“It’s worth a shot,” Joshua shoots him a wry smile.

Wonwoo gives in with the thought of just one more day in mind before he gets a break. Before he rises from bed, he grabs the notebook on his bedside table and scribbles down his dream quickly so that he doesn’t forget.

Joshua peeks over his shoulder. “You’re not gonna have enough time for that someday. Also, I don’t think you should be taking it too seriously.”

He isn’t sure either, but taking it seriously today felt most important to him, especially after the encounter the previous day. Wonwoo really felt like he could be on to something. It either needs a little more time, or a simple push in the right direction.

When he told his roommate this, the reply he got was, “Whatever floats your boat.”

As he munches down on his questionably shaped pancake, Wonwoo reads over his notebook to check for notes. Almost everything was pointing to the near future and it made his heart palpitate more than he’d like to admit. Whether it’s from excitement or nervousness, he doesn’t know.

Joshua sips on a pack of some grape jelly drink across the table. “Hey, so, remember that we have a small get together when I get back, okay?”

Without looking up, Wonwoo replies, “Yeah.”

“I’m gonna go start packing now.”

Wonwoo nods, replying again with, “Yeah.”

The only time he looks up from his notebook and his food is when his phone rings annoyingly loud. The caller ID brings a smile to his face.

“Jeon Wonwoo, are you saying what you think I’m saying?” His mother’s muffled voice pierces through the small speaker on his phone. She sounds unreasonably upset. “Don’t text it to me like that! Say it to me!”

“Mom-“

“I had a heart attack, really. The whole house might have exploded because of me. I just got back from the market!”

Wonwoo has to bite back a laugh at her unless he wants to get told off. “Mom, relax. I said I’m not sure yet,” he speaks calmly so as to coax her out of distress.

“Still, you could’ve said that _before_ you said you found him!” She exclaims.

Wonwoo fiddles with the shiny, red ribbon attached to the spine of his notebook while vaguely explaining what had happened the previous day. He doesn’t like going into full detail when his family asks about what he knows about his soulmate—it always feels like like he shouldn’t be telling them just yet.

It was never the fact that they were his family or anything. He didn’t even tell Joshua what happened. Unless he was sure of something, he figured it’s best to not jump to conclusions.

(He tries to keep the phone call short and sweet. No one in his family really likes to drag them out longer than necessary, anyway.)

The concept of this person he never met being an _actual_ person that he could see and touch and talk to felt too surreal to be true. After talking with his mother, he can’t help but feel excited and wonder when that winter day in his dreams comes.

He especially can’t help to let his mind wander off and imagine what life would be like with a significant other. Now if only he could actually remember the name...

_S something... Seunghyuk? Seokmin? So...ju?_

Sadly, the neatly written list of possible names on his notebook don’t contribute anything to his productivity.

Wonwoo doesn’t leave their place that day and instead decides to play a bunch of games on his laptop. It was a lazy Sunday and one of his last before going back to uni, so he wanted to make the most out of it. Joshua leaves sometime in the night, although he doesn’t know what time. All they exchanged were a few goodbyes and “take care”s.

He stays up until past three o’clock in the morning. (At this point, his eyes were too tired to stay open any longer. He could swear that he heard his mother’s voice: “ _This_ is why you can’t have good eyesight, Wonwoo.”)

The last thing he thinks about before drifting off is Dip Stocker. He wonders what he would be doing now...

* * *

.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

.

* * *

When Wonwoo wakes up later that day, his heart drops. He scrambles to grab his phone from his desk but it doesn’t turn on anyway. With a curse, he plugs it into the nearest charger he can find. His foot taps impatiently against the carpet of the floor, eyes glued to the rebooting phone.

As far as he remembers, his parents only told him one thing that could happen if anything went wrong and he _prayed_ that it wasn’t it. The small logo on his phone disappears and he hurriedly punches in his passcode.

_Please, I’ve only seen him_ once _in my entire life. Not now._

 

**Google**

[ Why do dreams stop? ]

 

3 Reasons Why Your Soulmate Dreams Suddenly Come to a Stop | Nightly Journal

When to be Worried with Your Dreams | The Daily Drop

Not Getting Dreams? Here’s Why | Ketchup Clinic

Doctor Ilichevsky Explains What Dreams Tell You | Medical Center of Toronto

 

_Related searches_

already 21 no dreams  
no dreams for a week  
is my soulmate dead?

 

His breath hitches at the the last line on the screen. The palms of his hands become clammy, and it’s becoming hard to swallow down every worry that begins to fill his head. In the back of his mind, he braces himself the worst, but still tries not to think about it anyway. Wonwoo stares at the screen, the silence of his room urging him to find out already. He bites his lip and scrolls to the top to tap the first search result.

 

**3 Reasons Why Your Soulmate Dreams Suddenly Come to a Stop**

**_1\. They’ve passed away._ **

_(If your soulmate passed_ before _you became 21, you would not have dreams at all.) This is the most common cause for dreams to stop, and sadly it happens more often than one might think. Around 1.5% of the current population on Earth has a deceased soulmate—that is the equivalent of over 100 million people. Do not worry yet unless the dreams stop for more than a week._

**_2\. They are in a life or death situation_ **

_A deadly scare to your soulmate’s health may also be a cause, however, if your dreams return within 2-5 days, it means they are still alive. It is worth noting, however that this does not necessarily mean that your soulmate is alive_ and _healthy._

**_3\. You’ve already met them._ **

_Most adults don’t tell us this, but once you meet your soulmate, dreams of this kind will become less frequent, and normal dreaming patterns occur just as they were before you turned 21. The reason why they do not say this is to avoid confusion. Imagine your soulmate dreams stopping, thinking that you’ve already found the one, when in fact “the one” isn’t even alive anymore._

_As a final note, dreams are simply there to show you what could be. More often than not, the event in your dreams that happens in the future or has happened in the past is—in simpler terms—a_ sibling _of the actual event, not a twin._

_A word of advice we would like to offer to the future-seers out there is: don’t rely too much on what you see. After all, it’s all just a dream._

 

A heavy sigh of relief escapes Wonwoo. Surely Dip Stocker hasn’t died within the span of two days, right? That is, assuming his soulmate _is_ Dip Stocker.

The thought of losing someone you don’t know is oddly painful to him. It’s almost unimaginable to live your whole life longing for that person you never got to be with in the first place. Like an itch that is never scratched. _And yet_ , Wonwoo thinks solemnly, _Shua hyung goes through it everyday._

Nothing else really matters to him right now except going to the supermarket.

_Just to be safe._

* * *

The international snacks aisle in the supermarket has never looked more inviting than it did today. It’s clearly void of any other human (more importantly, void of stock clerks), which makes sense considering that dips aren’t the only thing that need to be restocked.

Wonwoo wanders around the place in search for Dip Stocker (the name which has caught on in his head, though not as endearing as he initially thought). Every aisle is like another runway for him to look like a loitering asshole who isn’t buying anything or going anywhere. Nice.

He walks and walks for around ten minutes but Dip Stocker still doesn’t come up anywhere. His gut starts to knot at the thought of his soulmate between life or death until he comes across the same stock clerk who offered him a basket. This alone offers him some sort of relief. The man is busy stacking boxes into a pushcart for easier transfer, so Wonwoo approaches him hesitantly. The moment he is close enough to call his attention, the clerk turns and jumps in surprise.

“Oh my god,” short-long hair mutters before putting on a smile. “Yes, sir?”

_What do I say? I didn’t think he would actually respond..._

“Uh...” Wonwoo starts off dumbly, “the, um, dip? Where?”

_Smooth._

The clerk snaps his fingers. “Ah!” He exclaims with a grin. “It’s you!”

Wonwoo doesn’t know what in the world he means by “it’s you”. _It’s me? Produce 101? What._

“You’re the one who was staring at Soonyoung like a confused puppy. I’m Jeonghan. Let me guess, you’re back because he’s your soulmate, correct?” Jeonghan smiles knowingly at Wonwoo to confirm if his suspicions are correct.

The automatic reaction that Wonwoo can manage is to repeat the name, “Soonyoung? Th-that’s his name?” _Okay, not soju, noted._

His heart skips a beat when Jeonghan nods and repeats it, and he really wants to know more.

“How did you know? The soulmate thing, I mean.”

“It was just a guess.” Jeonghan returns to adjusting the boxes so that they fit properly in the pushcart. “You had that ‘is this him no way that can’t be him but I swear it’s him’ face. Kinda looks like this.”

Wonwoo scrunches up his face at the face Jeonghan makes. It’s a mix of such an odd combination of shock and horror that he wonders how Soonyoung even still looked him in the face.

“Plus,” the other adds, “you just bought dip three days ago. Unless you have short-term memory loss, I highly doubt that you’d forget where they are.”

“Wow, you’re pretty smart.”

“I don’t usually humiliate myself on a daily basis by making faces at customers, so the compliment is much appreciated.”

A small awkward pause ensues so Wonwoo has to clear his throat. “I’m Wonwoo, by the way. Sorry for disturbing your work. I’ll get going now.”

Admittedly, he didn’t want to leave yet. If anything, he wanted to stay for as long as he could just to ask about just _who_ exactly Soonyoung is, what his favorite thing to eat is, if he puts on the left sock or the right sock first, what his family is like, how old he is... the list could go on and on.

Wonwoo knows, however, that he should be asking Soonyoung that.

“Soonyoung...” (his heart goes _swoosh_ when he says the name) “do you know where he is?”

Jeonghan smiles. “I was wondering when you’d ask.”

Wonwoo wants to disappear through the shelf of noodles next to him. The feeling of his ears daring warm up at a time like this makes it about three times worse. Just three.

”Sadly, though, you just missed him.”

_Oh. The one that got away... is that how that saying works?_

“He’s taking time off until Wednesday. Come back then,” Jeonghan throws a wink in his direction.

Wonwoo nods solemnly. “Thanks. See you around, I guess.”

He leaves the supermarket feeling accomplished, but not being able to see Soonyoung again leaves a small, dull, and longing type of pain that he hasn’t experienced before. The only thing that leaves comfort in Wonwoo is knowing that Soonyoung _isn’t_ dead.

* * *

Wednesday comes.

Then Thursday.

Then Friday.

Every single one of those days, the same thing happens. It goes something like this: Wonwoo walks around the supermarket for a bit, finds Soonyoung, dies a little inside at the sight of him, tries not to get caught, finds Jeonghan, Jeonghan snickers at him, and then he leaves.

What he learned within those three days are two things—one, Soonyoung doesn’t like the required uniform, so when he’s alone, he removes the apron. Two, it’s obvious when he’s upset, because on some days it’s a lot more visible than others (or even when Wonwoo visits more than once within the same day).

What he _hasn’t_ learned, however, is how old Soonyoung is. By the end of the first day, he had a serious debate on whether or not he preferred older men or younger men, because Soonyoung literally looked like a man who could be both. Sometimes, he‘s the cutest, fluffiest child-like human ever, and other times when he’s seriously focused on a task, he looks like he’s matured two or three years.

(Although, he still much prefers a same-aged man, if he did say so himself.)

The dreams came and go throughout the week. A few were of his soulmate alone, looking for a job, watching movies, etc., but occasionally, Wonwoo would pop in in various forms including phone calls, texts, photos, leaving the apartment they shared, all the small things.

On the mornings or naps where he would wake up to no dreams, Wonwoo still panicked involuntarily. After consecutive days of having them, it’s weird when they stop without your knowledge.

Half of him wants to ask Jeonghan (hyung?) for all the information that he knows about Soonyoung, but he other half of him wishes that Soonyoung would somehow magically catch him. He does know, however, that he isn’t one who could handle either of those anyway. (Which was unfortunate for him because the only social media the guy had that Wonwoo could find was a Facebook account looking like it was made in 2012.)

Today—Saturday—he’s finally in the supermarket to _actually_ buy something. He grabs a basket and goes through the shopping list that Joshua sent hours ago.

**Hong Joshua**

_hey don’t forget about the get together_  
01:42

_Who do you think I am, hyung_  
01:59

_a really forgetful person_  
02:00

_Whatever_  
_What do I need to buy_  
02:00

_i have_ _a list prepared let me just type it down_  
02:01

_12 bottles soju_  
 _2 bags cheetos_  
 _6 cups spicy ramyeon_  
 _1 bag tube ice_  
 _2 dozen fried chicken wings_  
 _1 large plain cheese pizza_  
02:03

_I thought you said this is a small get-together?_  
02:10

_it is_  
02:11

_How many people are coming?_  
02:11

_4_  
02:11

_Our apartment can’t even fit 4 people, what more 6_  
02:11

_we’ll make it work_  
_aren’t you excited to meet my underlings_  
02:12

_You mean your friends_  
02:12

_right right_  
02:12

_How did you even meet them???_  
02:15

_you don’t need to know_  
02:15

While doing his shopping, Wonwoo comes across Soonyoung twice, but Jeonghan is nowhere to be seen. Aside from the stuff he needed to buy, he grabbed a few more things for him to (or more like attempt to) cook for his meals for the next 18 hours before his roommate gets back.

During checkout, he sees Soonyoung distractedly untying his apron and walking along the checkout counters. Since the dip incident, this was the only other time that he got to see Soonyoung’s face a little bit closer than usual. He tries to get a better look to be able to embed his soulmate’s face into his brain, but said soulmate suddenly turns his head to look directly at the counter Wonwoo is (coincidentally) currently at. Wonwoo hurriedly looks away to his wallet where he pulls out the money Joshua handed him almost a week ago.

_Fuck, until when will my life be like this?_

* * *

The following day, Joshua finally arrives. He’s clearly jet lagged and dead tired from his travels, so much so that he doesn’t even bother unpacking or anything—he just goes straight to bed. (Bed meaning the sofa in their living space. His energy wasn’t enough to make it to the actual bed.)

Wonwoo laughs at the sight. His usually well-mannered and picky hyung was now sprawled across the sofa in the least pleasant way to look at as possible, not a single shit given. After snapping a quick picture, Joshua’s phone dings twice.

He picks it up to put it on silent. No one wants to interrupt Joshua when he’s asleep. (Wonwoo learned that the hard way.)

But before he moves the switch on the side of the phone, it dings again and when the screen illuminates, it reads three notifications:

_**soonyoung** : welcome back home hyung!! can’t wait to see you again~_  
_**soonyoung** : jihoonie says he’ll chug down three bottles tomorrow_  
_**soonyoung** : don’t tell him i said that_

Wonwoo slams the phone back on the coffee table a little harsher than intended.

_If this is who I think it is, I’m tapping out._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> forced myself to find inspiration for this and it worked hehehdh i feel a lot better these days too.. next chapter will be fun party party night see y’all on the other side


	4. takes one to know one

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> soonyoung’s pov...interesting :)

Soonyoung leaves work early on Monday.

He’s just not feeling well overall, but more importantly (on this day in particular), he’s scared and confused.

When the dreams stopped last night, to say he panicked is an understatement. He immediately read about it online, but it didn’t help. He still had no idea if he’d met his soulmate yet, so ruling out the fact that he _has_ was a possibility.

He didn’t know who else to talk to except Jeonghan. The dude gave some seriously good advice, so Soonyoung didn’t think it was necessarily a bad idea.

That morning, Soonyoung walked into the break room with much less energy than he usually did. Jeonghan was in front of his locker, tying the apron around his waist. Soonyoung called his attention.

“Yeah? What’s wrong?”

“My dreams stopped last night,” Soonyoung sighed heavily. “I don’t know what to do, hyung. He could be _dead_ as far as I know.”

Jeonghan purses his lips. “Listen to me, okay?”

Soonyoung nodded.

“Just because they stop doesn’t mean that you should give up yet. Nothing is for certain until you confirm it well into the week. Hang on for a bit more, yeah?”

It might not sound like much advice, but to Soonyoung, it was all he needed to hear.

* * *

By Wednesday, Soonyoung stops worrying so much and he finally has enough strength to go to work again. The dreams aren’t back, but it hasn’t been a week yet, so he clings onto that.

Jeonghan is already going over the stocks from the previous day when he arrives. He lightly taps his co-worker’s shoulder from behind.

Caught by surprise, Jeonghan jumps in his seat a little, clutching his heart. “Ah, really!” He glares at Soonyoung, “You kids really have to stop doing that. I’m gonna get a heart attack some day...” He closes the file he was reading and turns to face Soonyoung.

“Kids? Who else would scare you like that?” Soonyoung cocks his head to the side.

Jeonghan smiles at him. “You’d be surprised with what kind of customers we get.”

“Are they as crazy as you?”

”Very funny. Get back to work.”

* * *

On Saturday, when lunch break rolls around, Jeonghan suggests they eat some takoyaki at a nearby stall. They walk there in mostly silence, although Soonyoung’s head is still spinning with thoughts and hypothetical situations with his soulmate.

After ordering and receiving their food, Jeonghan brings up the soulmate topic for the first time since Monday.

“Do you have any leads?”

Soonyoung shakes his head, “No.”

He really wishes he did. At this point, anything would be better than this kind of clueless waiting.

Jeonghan sighs. “Really? Nothing? You don’t think it could be, like, I don’t know,” he stuffs a takoyaki ball into his mouth with a shrug, “a customer?”

“Hyung, we get dozens of customers everyday. Even if he was among them, do you really think that I would be able to identify exactly _which_ one?” Soonyoung doesn’t have much of an appetite. His takoyaki rolls around pathetically in the sauce while he converses. “Last week alone, I probably talked to over 50 customers.”

“Soonyoung-ah, the chance will come when you least expect it. I don’t want to rush you too much. Sorry if that pressured you.”

It was surprising to Soonyoung how much he could rely on Jeonghan for these kinds of things. The first time they met, Jeonghan just gave off the vibe of the lazy worker who would do anything to get paid (which he _is_ close to), but he was one of the nicest people he’d ever met.

“It’s okay. Want my takoyaki?”

* * *

_Soonyoung finds himself in the supermarket._

_But it’s not any supermarket—it’s the all too familiar one he’s been working at for the past two and a half months._

_Needless to say, he is completely, utterly confused. Why would he be here all of a sudden after the endless strings of sights of his soulmate’s hometown? Either he moved to Seoul as a kid, or there was an extremely big time skip._

_The latter option would be a better guess, since his soulmate stands alone, in front of one of the checkout counters. His height has clearly exceeded a seven-year old. The lady manning it punches in a few buttons and (presumably) states the total amount to be paid._

_The gaze suddenly shifts to the left and he sees something that he never has. If these dreams allowed him to make sounds, he’d probably shout “what the fuck” too loud for everyone’s comfort._

_Walking there, completely oblivious to everything, is Soonyoung himself. He stares at his figure and that same same ugly uniform he’s been wearing every god damn day until dream-Soonyoung turns and walks in the direction of where he was getting the view from. His soulmate quickly turns away, cutting to him looking down on his wallet._

* * *

The adrenaline pumps through Soonyoung’s body at a speed he _swears_ he can feel running in every inch of his blood. It causes him to sit bolt upright the moment his eyes open, and a sheen of cold sweat covers his skin. Goosebumps crawl all over.

“Woah...” he breathes. “That was some meta shit.“

His first instinct is to tell someone—anyone—but he just can’t seem to bring himself to do it at the moment. Soonyoung is too confused as to why he just saw himself, his _full grown_ , recent self, in that dream, and in the _supermarket_ of all places.

_Do I always look that cute?_

He didn’t know if seeing your soulmate from afar was counted as a meeting, but one thing was for sure: his soulmate was _not_ dead. That alone was enough to fuel him for the rest of the year. He hopes that meeting his soulmate will come real soon already.

Soonyoung wants to cry out of happiness. The relief brings such a big smile to his face that he blasts nice texts to his friends, wishing them a good day, telling Jihoon they should go to Lotte World next weekend, greeting Joshua on his landing from L.A., sending cute stickers to his dance studio friends.

It’s a bit of an overreaction, but being nice hasn’t hurt anybody.

* * *

When the work day ends on Monday, the break room is brighter than usual. Although he was a bit disappointed that no one in the supermarket looked cute enough to be his soulmate today, spending time with his friends was more important for the day.

Jeonghan smiles at Soonyoung. “Going somewhere?”

“Friend’s place. I’ll be late tomorrow,” Soonyoung tosses his apron into the small locker and dashes to the door in excitement. “See you, hyung!”

He meets one of his not-as-close close friends outside. Seungcheol was more of Joshua’s close friend than he was Soonyoung’s. Still, they got along well so became friends anyway. The two of them set off to their destination.

Joshua’s apartment building is a little bigger than they expected. It looks almost intimidating to approach, much more to actually walk into. They hesitate for a bit before Seungcheol texts Joshua that they’re already outside.

Soonyoung spots a giant human jogging toward’s them, which could be no other than Mingyu. For a second, it looks like it’s _just_ Mingyu, but upon his approaching, Soonyoung finds Jihoon on his back, clinging on like a koala.

_That’s so disgustingly cute._

Mingyu’s heavy breathing becomes more audible. “Jihoon tripped on the way here. His foot might be sprained.”

Jihoon rolls his eyes (but he’s clearly very amused). “He’s just overreacting. Put me down,” he slaps a shoulder in front of him.

“No,” his boyfriend locks his legs in place.

“Seungcheol, peel me off,” Jihoon demands, amidst struggling to break free.

Soonyoung can tell Seungcheol really doesn’t know what to do when he’s caught between fighting Mingyu’s brute strength and Jihoon’s angry glares.

“Soonyoung, you do it,” Seungcheol pushes him towards the pair. They banter for a bit for who should get Jihoon off until they don’t notice when Joshua appears from inside the building and peels Jihoon off himself.

“Can you guys, like, shut up?”

Everyone shuts up.

Joshua sighs. “You’re lucky I love you all.”

They follow Joshua and climb the stairs to the fifth floor where the apartment is located. Soonyoung is excited to just eat and drink without a care in the world. Plus, Joshua had mentioned that his roommate is a pretty cool guy. Yay to new friends.

After two knocks on the door, it opens and Soonyoung sees the most handsome face he’s ever encountered. It’s like the guy was chiseled by the gods himself. Every feature from the guy’s jawline to his nose to his eyes to his lips—was there anything that made him unattractive?

“Come in. This is Wonwoo, by the way. The guy I kinda live with,” Joshua laughs.

Wonwoo isn’t amused. “Right,” his straight face morphs into a small smile. “Nice to meet you guys.”

_Why is his voice so deep? How much testosterone does that cost? Maybe Seungcheol hyung would know..._

Soonyoung stares a little too long and the tips of his ears go red when Wonwoo catches his gaze. He nearly yelps from embarrassment but Wonwoo looks away first, distracted when Joshua begins to push the party in.

“Here’s the food. Grab whatever you want,” Joshua says the moment they step in, gesturing to the kitchen where all the food is on display. All other thought disappears from Soonyoung’s head and he dashes to hug his hyung.

“Yay! Thanks for the food, hyung. I love you,” Soonyoung stresses the last part dramatically. Mingyu nods, equally excited. He hugs Joshua from the other side and he and Soonyoung begin showering him with love. Seungcheol whispers to a Jihoon, “Wow, it’s like you’re not even there.”

Jihoon shrugs, “I’m used to it.”

“Wonwoo did most of the work, to be honest,” Joshua laughs. “I was too tired from traveling. You should really be thanking him, right Wonwoo?”

Everyone looks at Wonwoo, expecting a reply, but he doesn’t. Instead, he’s looking right at Soonyoung. (Soonyoung who feels like dying right about: now.) Wonwoo realizes it late that he’s the center of attention and coughs awkwardly.

_Fuck._

The split second of silence causes an even more awkward shift, especially when Wonwoo manages to release a broken, “yeah”.

_He was looking at me? He was looking at me. Let the floor swallow me. Please._

Jihoon plays some music to loosen up and the six of them settle in in the living space near the kitchen. It’s a bit of a squeeze, but it wasn’t that bad. At this point, everyone gets up to grab something to eat, but Soonyoung lags behind to talk to Joshua.

“Hyung, when you said you had a cute roommate, you didn’t say he was the man of my dreams,” he whisper-whines.

“You’re just saying that because he’s good looking. You don’t even know what kind of person he is,” Joshua snickers. “Trust me, he has this really gross habit where-“

Before he can finish the sentence, a wild Wonwoo appears to suddenly drag him away. Soonyoung’s heart jumps considering Wonwoo just walked right up next to him, their arms brushing _just_ slightly.

Soonyoung takes the secluded, hushed conversation the roommates were having as his cue to leave. While picking up food to put on his plate, he thinks that Wonwoo might’ve overheard what Joshua was about to say and, ultimately, just wanted to saved himself from being thrown under the bus.

(He doesn’t want to think about the possibility of Wonwoo hearing the “man of my dreams” part.)

The only empty stop left in the living room is on the carpet, near the full glass windows overlooking a few rooftops. Soonyoung doesn’t mind because he likes sitting on the floor, but when Wonwoo approaches the spot and hesitates without sitting down, he just wants to sit anywhere _but_ there.

Joshua returns with plate of food of his own, stopping in his tracks to look for a place to sit. Soonyoung prays that he sits next to him to avoid any more awkward encounters with the (hot) guy he has had too much eye contact with for one night.

Just when Soonyoung feels like luck is on his side, Joshua smiles at Wonwoo and says, “You can sit there.”

Wonwoo stands firm and unmoving. “You paid for everything. You take a seat.”

“You and Soonyoung are the same age. You’ll be great _friends_ ,” Joshua persists. For a moment, Wonwoo looks surprised. Soonyoung can understand why; he didn’t think they would be the same age, either.

The confusion is infectious among the four visitors. Soonyoung, Jihoon, Mingyu and Seungcheol sneak glances between themselves and at the two hosts who are now silently forcing smiles at each other. Wonwoo’s looks painful but Joshua’s looks smug. 

This goes on for about fifteen seconds before a big ball of courage suddenly forces itself into Soonyoung’s brain and it breaks the silence with, “I’m sure we’ll get along fine.”

_Whichever god is listening right now, please hit me with a giant walnut._

Joshua grins. “See, Wonwoo?”

With slight resistence, Wonwoo finally takes his seat. Due to his long legs, his and Soonyoung’s overlap slightly. Soonyoung doesn’t complain and instead stuffs pizza into his mouth. He needed alcohol in his system ASAP.

While engaging in a conversation about anime with the other guys, his eyes gravitate toward the refrigerator where he knew the good stuff was. Next to him, Wonwoo raises a questioning eyebrow.

“It’s a little early for that, don’t you think?” He laughs softly. Soonyoung’s eyes widen in surprise at the softness of his laugh.

_This whole man who looked like he was ready to fight everyone with his eyes just turned into the softest human with one laugh. How does his voice go from “I’m your daddy” to “I’m your baby”?_

“My cravings choose no time,” Soonyoung winks. He hopes to ease more of the tension between them, but it seems to have just upped a little bit instead. Wonwoo stares at him awkwardly, slightly confused.

At this point, Seungcheol, who was listening in on the exchange, bursts into laughter. “You guys are so cute,” he muses.

They both clear their throat at the same time. Soonyoung really doesn’t know why this is so weird. Was it a phase? Did every friendship go like this? He figured Wonwoo was still uncomfortable and really might’ve heard the “man of his dreams” statement...

The continued anime conversation between Joshua, Jihoon and Mingyu comes to a close and Joshua brings up a new topic. “Wonwoo, how’s your soulmate search going?”

Wonwoo’s eyes widen and he nearly chokes on a chicken bone. “Fine,” he replies after having a sip of water. “It’s nothing exciting, I think.”

“Ooh,” Seungcheol lights up, “what dreams do you get?”

Soonyoung can’t help but be curious either. He eagerly listens to what Wonwoo has to say.

Wonwoo pauses to think for a bit. “Well, I see future things. A lot has happened. I’ve seen a lot of stuff with us together.”

Soonyoung feels like he’s been punched in the gut. He isn’t gonna lie, he’s extremely envious of those who get to see the future. He’s been saying this for the past few weeks, but at this point, he was just so _tired_ of not knowing anything. It’s been building up for too long.

“Sometimes,” Wonwoo sighs, “I feel like I have a good guess as to who it is. But I just don’t want to rush it, you know?”

Everyone nods in agreement (except Soonyoung).

Suddenly remembering his most recent dream that gave him a gleam of hope, Soonyoung perks up, eager to share it with his friends (and new, uh, acquaintance). “You guys wouldn’t guess the dream I had recently!” He smiles wildly, shifting in his seat so he can get a better view of every person in the room.

”Wow,” Jihoon laughs, “you’re _actually_ excited about a dream for once. No more whining,” his best friend teases.

Soonyoung grins even wider. “I know, right? It was so weird but so... _woah_.”

”What was it?” Wonwoo asks eagerly. Soonyoung blinks at him, taken aback by the genuinely curious look at his face. _He’s adorable, what the fuck._

Suddenly shy, Soonyoung starts off with his short story. “Basically, he was in the supermarket that _I worked in_. It was crazy! I _saw myself,_ you guys. I actually _saw_  me, myself, my face, my body! And my soulmate wasn’t looking straight at me and I didn’t even know!” He makes crazy hand gestures to aid he’s story telling, most of them being emphasis on the eyes and seeing things.

”Soonyoung-ah, you must be blind,” Joshua shakes his head, holding back a laugh.

”Yeah, kinda...” Mingyu agrees.

Soonyoung is quick to defend himself. ”It’s not easy when there are a lot of customers, okay?” He pouts and crosses his arms like a child.

“Who wants beer? I’m gonna go get some,” Wonwoo volunteers out of nowhere to go to the convenience store to buy a few bottles and suggests that they clean up a bit. After a total headcount of zero in response to his question, he hurriedly stands, grabs the apartment keys, and leaves.

”What happended to him? He looked kinda flustered,” Jihoon raises concern.

Joshua bites his bottom lip. “He’ll be fine. I think he just really wants a beer.”

”Soju doesn’t cut it for him?” Soonyoung inquires. “I understand. Must be a tough time.”

”You don’t even drink beer, Soonyoung,” Jihoon deadpans.

”Oh, yeah. Haha.”

The five who were left behind begin their mini cleanup for the after party. Soonyoung begins to flatten out the empty pizza box and takeout chicken boxes. About three minutes later, Joshua who is wiping down the coffee table, declares, “Jeon Wonwoo is a fucking idiot.”

“Stop slandering your roommate!” Mingyu yells from the sink.

When Soonyoung looks over to him from the kitchen, he’s raising a small, brown, leather wallet in his hand. It takes him a while to realize what was going on. Once he does, without second thought, he volunteers to take it to Wonwoo.

 _It can’t be_ that _bad._

On his way down the stairs from the apartment with the wallet in hand, Soonyoung seriously begins regretting his big mouth and his kindness. Although, he wanted to take this as an opportunity to _actually_ clear the weird atmosphere between him and Wonwoo. He really did seem like a cool guy, just needed a little more socializing with him.

Lost in thought, he loses his balance on the last flight of stairs. Luckily, he’s able to catch himself before he can stumble down the steps ass-first. The wallet flies to the even flooring at ground level, wide open.

Soonyoung quickly catches his breath to overcome his near-death experience (or at least what _felt_ like a near-death experience) and dashes to pick up the wallet before someone tries to steal it.

When he lifts the wallet, the image that greets him catches him by surprise. He didn’t take Wonwoo as the kind to have a family picture stored in his wallet.

“He was even handsome as a kid. Unbelievable,” Soonyoung scoffs. He takes a closer look at the family members. A younger brother, his dad and his mom. It’s a little faded, but he can still make out their faces. As he briefly scans each of them, an image suddenly comes to his head.

He thinks that the lady looks eerily familiar. He thinks it’s the lady he sees in his dreams. Soonyoung isn’t sure about the dad or the brother, but he’s almost _positive_ that Wonwoo’s mother was the same one he’s been seeing over and over.

Soonyoung inhales a sharp breath when he realizes that it could only mean one thing.

“No way... Wonwoo? My soulmate?” He draws the wallet closer to his eyes to inspect Wonwoo’s mother’s face once more. His heart begins to race when it feels like his suspicions really _are_ true. The stress he feels causes his mouth do go dry and he doesn’t know if it’s the good kind of stress or the bad kind. Nothing else runs in his mind except a repeated questioning of Wonwoo and the word soulmate.

A voice interrupts his train of thought. Soonyoung’s head snaps up at the man himself.

“I, uh... forgot my wallet, but you look like you have it,” Wonwoo touches the back of his neck, laughing lightly from embarrassment. His smile drops when he observes the frozen state Soonyoung is in. “Are you okay?”

Soonyoung licks his dry lips. He’s happy but he can’t smile. His heart wants to jump out of his chest but it doesn’t. A wave of nerves crashes over him as he encounters the toothbrush kid he never thought he would.

“Wonwoo, did you know?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :o ??wonu! did u kNOW?
> 
> i’m so fucking happy that they finally met u don’t even understannd, ,why is building up the climax so hard :(


	5. just you, me, us

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> good day i know this is totally unrelated but i am completely utterly in love with tom holland and my heart aches when i think of him he’s just so aDORABLE

“Crap,” Wonwoo mutters in frustration. At this point, the nearest convenience store was already visible about four blocks away but he quickly does an about face to retrieve his wallet. He doesn’t know where in the apartment it is and, frankly, he doesn’t want to think about it.

Since the day started he’s only been thinking about Soonyoung. For all he knew, the “Soonyoung” on Joshua’s phone wasn’t even the Soonyoung he was looking for. There could be a lot of Soonyoungs in the world... right?

But the moment he opened the door that afternoon, oh god, Wonwoo knew he was _fucked_.

Nothing was more embarrassing than being caught staring and making eye contact. He wasn’t blind; Soonyoung looked like he had the biggest dose of infatuation injected into him when they locked eyes.

Wonwoo’s stomach churns with unexplainable feelings, and even more so when he recalls the short conversation between Soonyoung and Joshua that he overheard earlier.

_Me? Man of his dreams?_

Wonwoo clicks his tongue, “If only you knew...”

It wasn’t that he didn’t like Soonyoung or anything, he was just really overthinking his next move. He didn’t want to come across as nosy or anything. He didn’t want to be overly friendly and he didn’t know how to act like he hasn’t known Soonyoung for a while now. (Because otherwise is definitely _not_  creepy.)

In short—he didn’t know what to do, like, at all.

Wonwoo picks up the pace with his new and improved emotionally-frustrated-brisk walk. That beer was waiting and he was so ready to get it. Tonight was more stressful than it needed to be. He had no idea whether or not he was going to tell Soonyoung the truth or just try to get closer first.

_It’s not a lie if I don’t say anything, right?_

Although the second option seems more endearing to him, he then realizes that Soonyoung will probably be able to piece the puzzle together if they spend time with each other and it shows up in dreams (such as the recent incident in the supermarket that he does not enjoy thinking about).

The familiar building Wonwoo resides in is finally visible. In a rush, he dashes for the last bit. The moment he opens the entrance door of the building, what greets him is his soulmate himself.

Nothing much else really registers to him except the need to explain why he was there so he half-rambles about his absent wallet. Looking at anything and everything but Soonyoung’s face, he finds the wallet in the hands of the other boy and continues with his talking until he realizes that Soonyoung is quite unresponsive.

“Are you okay?” Wonwoo takes a few steps closer to Soonyoung, finally daring himself to have a proper conversation. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” he pushes out a small laugh (in attempt to) lighten the mood a bit, but his voice had become small and he was essentially just talking to himself.

“Wonwoo-ya,” Soonyoung pauses, “did you know?”

_There are three things that could be the answer to that. A, “Yes, Soonyoung, I know I left my wallet, we were just talking about it.” B, “No, Soonyoung, I didn’t know that Shua hyung has had athlete’s foot before and that’s because he specifically told me not to tell anyone but I guess you found out anyway.” Or C, “Yes, Soonyoung, but-“  
_

“I wasn’t sure how to tell you.”

Soonyoung finally shows another emotion aside from confusion. To Wonwoo’s surprise, he grins. It’s a smile so wide and so bright that he can’t help but smile back.

“Well, you won’t have to tell me, now.”

In a split second, Wonwoo is enveloped by the tightest hug he’s ever received from anyone else other than his mother (and a wrestling match with his brother that had a very different kind of hug).

After a few seconds, Wonwoo hears Soonyoung’s small sniffles on his shoulder and how the arms around his torso somehow manage to tighten further. Hesitantly, he lifts both of his hands to pat Soonyoung’s head.

Soonyoung looks up at him with a tear-streaked face. “That was so awkward,” he manages between hiccups.

The small pout, the furrowed eyebrows—Wonwoo can’t help but laugh at how ridiculously cute his soulmate looks. “Soonyoung-ah, you’re the one who just soaked my t-shirt,” he points to the small (big) patch of tears on his shoulder, “don’t complain.”

The two of them set off to the convenience store together. The air is a lot less stuffy now, but Wonwoo still has a lot of burning questions to ask.

“So how did you-“

“Stop right there,” Soonyoung abruptly raises a hand in front of Wonwoo’s face and it causes them to come to a halt. He glares, but Wonwoo can’t take him seriously when his nose is still red and he just looks like a small, angry hamster

“Alright, alright, I’m stopping.” Wonwoo raises his arms to surrender and they resume their travel. 

“How long have you known?”

_Yeah, this was coming for me._

Wonwoo takes a deep breath and starts to explain the entire story from the beginning—the Doritos, the dip, the hands, his dreams—everything, except in a more condensed version (where he had to choose his words carefully and leave out anything that sounded borderline creepy). Soonyoung throws in a few reactions here and there but never interrupts.

(Such reactions include, but are not limited to: _Woah_ , _Now that you mention it..._ , _No way_ , _Seriously?_ , and many giggles.)

By the time they’re leaving the convenience store, Wonwoo is already at the part where he met Jeonghan. He continues for a little more until they’re about halfway back to the apartment. “The thing you saw in your dream, though,” he hesitates on his final note, “that was a, um, coincidence,” he defends. “I was getting stuff for tonight.” 

“Do you know how nice it is to listen to you talk?” 

Caught unguarded, Wonwoo feels his breath get knocked away. Soonyoung says it as if it’s nothing, casually licking on a cone of ice cream he picked up from the store, but Wonwoo’s heart skips one too many beats.

“N-no. Well, no one has ever told me, like, directly to my face,” he clears his throat, clearly flustered. _Why does it feel like my whole story just flew out his other ear?_

“You just have this thing, you know?” Soonyoung continues, “Like, when you were getting to a good part, your pitch went up the slightest bit and it adds a lot of character.” 

Wonwoo gives his thanks for the compliment in return. If Soonyoung was going to just spew out compliments like that on a daily basis, Wonwoo figures he might need more frequent visits to the doctor for his weak heart. Cheesy stuff wasn’t really his thing, but Soonyoung just made it _work_ somehow.

After a full twenty minutes of talking, the chance to ask Soonyoung how he found out finally presented itself.

“I don’t have a long, interesting, story like you,” Soonyoung sighs in disappointment. “It was just... I recognized your mom in the picture you have in your wallet. That’s it. I had absolutely no clue otherwise. Past dreams don’t do too much for a life like yours, I guess.”

“Well, you’re right. I didn’t have too much of an eventful life.”

Soonyoung suddenly grabs Wonwoo’s arm. “We’ll change that,” he snickers mischievously, dragging Wonwoo quickly in his excitement. “Drinking party!” 

“Shut up, people might hear,” Wonwoo laughs.

* * *

The coffee table of their living room has never looked more sad than it does now. Empty bottles of soju sit atop the glass surface and five shot glasses with unknown owners are scattered all over.

Wonwoo shakes his can of beer to check how much is left. There’s at _least_ still half in there. Seungcheol is half asleep and mumbling a bunch of nonsense in Joshua’s way who isn’t listening nor awake.

Then there’s Jihoon who is having quite the difficult time dealing with a clingy Mingyu. It’s quite the sight; Wonwoo would like to describe it as something between a koala clinging onto a tree and everyone’s favorite aunt not-so-soberly hitting on her husband.

It was bound to get to this point where—after all the crazy amount of youth burning together in one room—almost everyone was hammered.

Soonyoung, however, despite being the epitome of “hammered”, seemed to have enough energy to last a whole ‘nother round of drinks. After merely three shots, he had become incredibly flirty that Wonwoo was even contemplating on flirting back just to see how far Soonyoung would take it.

(He didn’t, though, because every other soul in the room would tease him about it until he reaches his grave.)

“I think this one needs to go home...” Jihoon raises an irritated brow in Mingyu’s direction (or rather where Mingyu comfortably rests his head in the nook between Jihoon’s shoulder and neck).

In the few hours that Wonwoo has gotten to know Jihoon, he found out that the guy was not fond of being touchy. Yet here he was, being absolutely touchy and continuously patting his boyfriend’s back lightly. 

Wonwoo nods. He asks about Seungcheol and Jihoon kindly volunteers to take him home as well.

“You need me to take that one, too?” Jihoon juts his chin towards Soonyoung who is lying face down, torso on the couch and kneeling on the floor. It is actually quite a... compromising position.

Wonwoo widens his eyes at the sight. Jihoon already had two kids on his hands, he would feel bad for putting Soonyoung on him, too. “It’s alright, I think I can take care of him.”

“Alright. Thanks for everything. See you around,” Jihoon gathers his two friends and takes (drags) them out of the apartment.

“Be careful and take care,” Wonwoo waves the three off.

Joshua takes some violent shaking to awaken, which is a giant mistake because what greets Wonwoo is shove in the face.

“Hyung,” he grits his teeth, “if you’re gonna sleep, at least do it in your room.”

After some time, Joshua finally grumbles, “Help me."

 _Ugh_.

After hauling his roommate into the proper bed, Wonwoo examines his final trial from a safe distance.

“Is he... singing?” Wonwoo snickers, shaking his head in disbelief.

“It’s a beautiful life... beautiful day... Wonwoo, you make my life so beau—” Soonyoung suddenly jumps up to stand from his awkward position and runs towards Wonwoo. However, the carpet folds slightly and he trips. Wonwoo barely catches him by the tips of his fingers—just enough to lessen the impact of the fall.

Wonwoo breathes a big sigh of relief. He feels like his heart just dropped to the first floor of their building. 

“Oops,” Soonyoung giggles.

“Are you having fun?” Wonwoo asks lifelessly.

“Yup! Tons,” Soonyoung picks up a nearly empty and forgotten soju bottle from the side table next to the couch. “How about you, Wonu-ya? One more?”

Wonwoo picks the bottle out of Soonyoung’s hand. “It’s not fun watching you nearly bash your head onto a table, trust me.” He lifts his angry facade when Soonyoung frowns and apologizes quickly. “It’s okay, but you’re the one who wanted to spice up my life yet you left me behind to take care of you,” he pinches Soonyoung’s right cheek.

The can of beer in his hand isn’t getting reduced any time soon, so Wonwoo makes his way to the refrigerator to save it for, well, whenever he feels like it. He grabs a nearby glass and pours himself a glass of water when Soonyoung surprises him with a sloppy back-hug.

“Give me attention,” Soonyoung whines.

Wonwoo, despite being tired, has enough energy to laugh and then puts down both the pitcher and the glass on the counter. With a struggle, he’s able to turn to face Soonyoung and distances themselves a bit with a light nudge.

“You really like me, don’t you?” Wonwoo laughs some more.

Soonyoung, clearly becoming groggy, nods vigorously. “Hey,” he interjects, “I’m not just saying that because we’re soulmates or anything. Although,” he drops his voice to a whisper, “between you and me, I totally believe that whole soulmate thing!”

“Me, too,” Wonwoo says quietly (more to himself than Soonyoung). He didn’t know how to explain it, but so many things about Soonyoung just intrigued him. The boy had so much dynamic to him and despite their differences, Wonwoo just feels like they _click_.

Throughout the night they have many small conversations, mostly getting to know each other and all the general stuff. It feels like a first date, but not really. The whole time, Wonwoo is just entranced by Soonyoung’s bubbly-ness and positive attitude.

Wonwoo tries to coax Soonyoung into telling him his address, but to no avail. 

“It’s half past two, Soonyoung-ah, you need to get home. Just tell me where so I can take you there,” he tries for the fourth time. He still gets a no in response.

Soonyoung lowers his gaze. “It get’s lonely sometimes,” he admits.

The earnest tone Soonyoung gave off made Wonwoo feel bad for pressing to take him home. He decides to instead just let Soonyoung sleep on the couch for the night.

_Don’t wanna scare him with a bed._

Once Wonwoo is able to grab an extra blanket from his cabinet, he finds that the living room is empty. He panics for a split second until Soonyoung emerges from the bathroom, the sound of the flushing toilet filling the room.

“Ah... drank too much,” Soonyoung wipes the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand. Wonwoo grimaces as he watches the boy barely walk properly to the couch and plop down. “Sit with me for a little while.”

Wonwoo obliges. He figures talking might make them both sleepy and finally turn in for a good rest. “Why’d you drink so much?” He teases lightly, bumping their shoulders together.

Soonyoung releases a yawn and leans onto Wonwoo’s shoulder. “Happy... I’m so happy. I finally found you,” he mutters quietly.

In a cheesy way, Wonwoo has the urge to just wrap himself with Soonyoung in the blanket and talk for hours, but, honestly speaking, he feels like it might be a wrong move in this stage of their relationship. Still, he was content with this moment.

“I’m happy, too,” he smiles.

“Sorry if you feel attacked by my affection. I tend to cling to people I like. Everything just feels so _right_ now, you know?”

 _I have a good idea of what you mean_. “Don’t be sorry. You’re just that kind of drunk,” Wonwoo chuckles.

“Wonu, do you know how to cook?”

The insanely unintentional cute way Soonyoung pronounces his name makes Wonwoo nearly tear up. His heart aches when he peeks down at his soulmate who already has his eyes closed and might just fall asleep any moment.

“Well... no,” Wonwoo admits.

“It’s okay, I do, uh, sort of. Whatever, I can learn. When we live together and stuff, I’ll make you some real food so you can stop eating those junk Doritos.”

Wonwoo’s dream of the two of them sitting on the same couch together in the same place flashes through his mind briefly. “Thinking that far already?”

“It’s gonna happen at some point.”

_He’s right._

“But Wonu-ya,” Soonyoung stops for a bit.

“Hm?”

“I’m still lacking a lot. There are many things I can’t do, sooo many things I’m not ready to give. _So many_ ,” Soonyoung stretches out his hand and does a sweeping motion as if he were visualizing all those things behind his closed eyes. Clearly, he has quite a bit of energy left.

“You aren’t the only one. We’re gonna work together, right?” Wonwoo reassures. He jumps in his seat when Soonyoung yells, “Ayeeee! You’re right, Nonu,” Soonyoung beams up at him.

_N-Nonu?_

Wonwoo is ready to go nuts.

“We’re going to get along _SO_ well.”

“I bet so,” he breathes, still taken aback by “Nonu”.

“To be honest,” Soonyoung shifts his position to lay down, “I was really getting impatient and tired, but it was worth it. Your mom is so so so pretty, by the way.”

“It’s where I get it from.”

Soonyoung gasps, eyes going wide, “You’re right!”

Wonwoo can’t help but laugh, “Ah, so cute.”

And they stay like that for a while. A drunk Soonyoung barely staying awake and bringing up just about anything and everything under the sun and Wonwoo entertaining him until he finally drifts off. He doesn't know how much time exactly had passed, but it definitely wasn't short.

Wonwoo smiles in the comfort of his bed, finally letting his eyes close and get some rest. Although it was tiring, he was just more than glad to spend time with Soonyoung for the night.

_That amount of energy and stamina might be useful for other things in the future..._

* * *

Daylight is most unpleasant after a good night with friends. Wonwoo squints when he exits his heavily curtained room, welcomed by the early afternoon sun. Once his eyes adjust to the light, the sight of Soonyoung on the couch is the first thing that greets him.

(The night was another dreamless one, but it was okay because the state of everything last night was already dreamlike. He still can't believe any of it happened.)

Soonyoung doesn't snore, though Wonwoo doesn't know why he expected him to. He's really peaceful and quiet, which makes Wonwoo wonder if that's only because his body somehow senses that he's in someone else's home.

This state is oddly very much endearing to see, with the blanket barely still on his body and clothes all ruffled. It was not necessarily the prettiest sight but it made Wonwoo think about the future. He could see Soonyoung everyday, whenever he could, at his best and even at his worst. He is well aware that dating is probably up there in the air somewhere, but they are friends first and that was more important to him for now.

Wonwoo wants to stare a bit longer but his stomach protests. He grabs a bowl of cereal from the kitchen where Joshua sits at the dining table as he drinks some sort of herbal tea, staring at nothing. "He has a low alcohol tolerance. I can't believe you let him have three bottles in his system," he scoffs, swirling around his tea aimlessly.

"How was  _I_ supposed to know that?"

"Thought it was obvious," Joshua sips, "Maybe you just got blinded by your love for him."

Wonwoo nearly throws his spoon at his hyung. "I do _not_ love him." _Yet_.

Joshua raises his eyebrows in a questioning manner. "Say that to that lovesick look you had on your face when you guys got back from the convenience store. I'm starting to wonder if going to the convenience store was _all_ that you did," he snickers.

"I hope you choke on-"

"A dick. The answer is always dick," a voice suddenly says from the living room. Both Wonwoo and Joshua look at each other then in the direction of their friend who was now sitting up, a hand massaging his forehead. "You guys are so loud, it hurts..." he groans.

Wonwoo rushes to give him some water and a painkiller. "How bad is it?" He laughs while Soonyoung washes down the pill.

Soonyoung glares. "Don't laugh. I don't want to see your good looking face right now, it's too much for my brain. What the hell even went on last night?"

"More than you might think," Wonwoo's gaze follows Soonyoung who slams back into the couch and rolls over in pain. He swipes away the fringe that covers Soonyoung's eyes and taps the side of the boy's cheek lightly. "Let's eat," he smiles.

The three of them eat together. It's a little embarrassing to only be able to offer cereals, eggs, and a variety of beverages, but Wonwoo figures it will have to do. Neither of the two roommates had enough energy to prepare a decent meal.

Wonwoo pours cereals into a bowl, followed by milk. There is a protest in the background that the milk goes first but he ignores it.

"I'll cook you some good stuff when we live together," Soonyoung pats Wonwoo on the shoulder.

"I thought you didn't know how to cook?" Wonwoo hands the bowl to the other with a smug smile. Soonyoung stares at him with suspicion, asking how he knew that. "I know more, Soon-ah," he smirks. That was sort of a lie, but it was fun to mess with overhung people.

While Soonyoung goes into momentary panic and freezes in place, Wonwoo shoves another spoonful of cereal into his mouth. He could use a shower right about now, but not before reminding Soonyoung of his job. Wonwoo involuntarily ruffles his hair to smoothen it out.

Soonyoung chokes on milk. When he catches his breath, he touches Wonwoo's forearm which is still up in mid-air and pushes it out of sight. "Dude, it's too early for me to be this gay for you, I swear it's unhealthy. What are you wearing?"

Wonwoo blinks, now the one frozen in place.  _His lack of a filter is unthinkable._ He looks down at his outfit, a pair of pajama pants and a sleeveless undershirt.

_And what's wrong with what I'm wearing?_

He hears Joshua mutter something unintelligible but definitely something about unresolved tension in the morning (or at least, what feels like morning for them) but pointedly tries not to bite back.

"You have a job," Wonwoo notes, clearing his throat. He turns to leave the kitchen, hearing Soonyoung release a string of profanity. Before he enters the bathroom, without thinking he calls out to Soonyoung and says, "Wait for me. I'll take you," then slams the door a little aggressively in a rush to avoid further conversation.

It was gonna be a _long_ bus ride.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> panicked gay ? confident gay ? which one is which ?
> 
> last chappie coming up very soon!! <3


	6. epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here it is, the end :’)

**Outgoing Call: wonuwu**

_“Hello?”_

_“Can you come over today?”_

_“I have a paper due tomorrow, I can’t.”_

_“I’ll help you.”_

_“Sure you will.”_

_“Really!”_

_“Remember the last time you tried to ‘help’ me with a paper?”_

_“No.”_

_“Exactly. We got nothing done.”_

_“Is that my fault?”_

_“Well I definitely wasn’t the one who got distracted and started—“_

_“Point taken. So, can I?”_

_“Only if you can keep me in check until two in the morning.”_

_“Ha, weak. I can do four.”_

_“You’ll only need to go that far because we’ll barely get anything done.”_

_“At least you know.”_

_“You’re a terrible influence on my studies.”_

_“Your official terrible influencer of studies will be waiting for your arrival.”_

 

Soonyoung hangs up abruptly. It doesn’t occur to him that the snow has begun to fall from the sky, caught up in the phone call with his—well, sort-of-boyfriend-but-where-is-the-label boyfriend. The cold causes an unpleasant shiver to run up his spine right when the bus pulls over at the stop. 

He quickly gets on the vehicle, eager to get home. The last class he had with Mr. Jung was absolutely, dreadfully boring. Admittedly, no one else can compare to how Mr. Jung makes him groan (not even Wonwoo, and that says a lot).

Soonyoung is tired and decided to go for a rain check at the dance studio he’s been attending for the past few years. Wonwoo just seemed to be the perfect vitamin for down days like this no matter the situation, no matter the day.

The ride is only about twenty minutes, but Soonyoung still manages to fall asleep. When the bus arrives at his stop, he is awakened by the incessant ringing of his phone. In a daze, he hurriedly answers it, embarrassed by the mean look the old lady seated in front of him just gave. 

“Hello?”

“Aren’t you gonna get off the bus?” Wonwoo’s voice comes through.

Soonyoung’s eyes go wide. When he looks outside the window, it is, in fact, his stop, and Wonwoo is sitting at the shed with his phone to his ear and a small, amused smile. Soonyoung curses loudly (causing another mean look from the old lady) and yells for the driver to wait just before the doors come to a close.

He hops off the bus and stumbles a bit. The bus drives off behind him along with its passengers who now probably hate him, but even the loud noise of the engine can’t drown out Wonwoo’s deep laugh.

Whether it’s the weather or embarrassment from the scene he caused, Soonyoung’s cheeks become pink and he buries himself further into his scarf. He quickly approaches Wonwoo who stands from his seat. When Soonyoung goes in for a hug, what he gets instead is two hands cupping his face lightly.

“It’s not because it’s snowing, is it?” Wonwoo feels up his cheeks some more. 

“You didn’t see the look she gave me! I felt like I was being scrutinized and judged,” Soonyoung defends. His heart swells with happiness upon talking with Wonwoo. Just being there with him already lifted the tiredness from Soonyoung’s spirit. “Did you see me on the bus in one of your dreams? Is that why you’re here?”

Wonwoo shakes his head, “No. I was just around the area to buy a book. The store said they only had it in that branch. When you called, I was actually walking to this shed already.” He stuffs his hands back into his coat pockets to protect them from the cold. 

“You missed me, didn’t you? Come here,” Soonyoung tries to give him a kiss and flat out gets rejected. He already knows Wonwoo isn’t a fan of PDA, but it was worth a shot, anyway.

“Save it for later,” Wonwoo says quietly.

They walk to Soonyoung’s apartment building at a fast pace to escape the cold weather. They converse about the hassle of commuting and find that neither of them like the buzz of the dorm life in-campus, and that they both preferred living on their own rules. (Curfew, especially, was a kill-joy.) 

When they get to the door of the unit, Soonyoung hurriedly unlocks it with Wonwoo in tow and lets his shoes fly off to the side. The ten minute walk was agonizingly long and all he got was—at most—half a minute of hand-holding before Wonwoo declared his hand was gonna freeze up.

Soonyoung basically runs to the couch, discarding his belongings along the way and pulling off his coat.

Wonwoo mimics his actions in a much neater way at a much slower pace. He seats himself on one side of the couch but turns his torso to face the other. “Why are you in such a rush? It’s not like I’m—“

“Stop talking for a bit. I just wanna do this,” Soonyoung puts a finger over Wonwoo’s lips. He flips himself over from where he was seated to effectively straddle and cage in Wonwoo. (This is his favorite thing do, only because it makes him taller.) He leans down the slightest bit, and neither of them say a single word until their lips meet. 

They kiss slow and languid at first but Soonyoung picks up the pace. He did _not_  just wait more than half a damn hour to go at the pace of a snail. It wasn’t even waiting, it was holding it in and now he could finally do what he wanted.

He knows Wonwoo feels the same way because they match each other with a push and a pull. They weren’t trying to exert dominance or anything, it was more of playing and taking turns. Hands don’t roam, they only stay in place, with Soonyoung’s tilting Wonwoo’s head upward and Wonwoo’s holding him close.

Over the last four months, so much has happened and whenever he kisses Wonwoo, Soonyoung feels connected with the past they have shared together. It was times like this when he wonders how the world works in the weirdest ways. He wonders if they still would have met if they didn’t know that they were each other’s soulmate, if they would still be here in his quaint apartment, making out as if their lives depended on it.

Soonyoung pulls away first to catch his breath and give a small kiss to Wonwoo’s forehead. His mouth stretches into a grin when Wonwoo returns it with a shorter, sweeter, peck to his lips.

“We’re like teenagers, _god_ ,” Soonyoung laughs while his sweater gets straightened out. 

“And this is why we never get any work done,” says the other.

(It was true, but Soonyoung always blames it on the games in Wonwoo’s laptop, anyway.)

While Wonwoo starts work on his paper, Soonyoung whips up some instant ramyeon. “It isn’t the healthiest, but at least you won’t go hungry,” he says, placing the two cups on the side table. There isn’t much for him to do, considering that Wonwoo is actually pretty smart and his fingers just glide along to type whatever is on his mind, so Soonyoung aimlessly scrolls through his Instagram.

 

**Instagram**

**jihoon_lee**

Busan, South Korea

[]

 

♡ 39 likes

 **s.cheol** why are you at the beach during winter

> **jihoon_lee** do i need a reason
> 
> **hongbro** hashtag let jihoon live

**gyu.don** miss you  <3

> **jihoon_lee** is that why you used my credit card to buy clothes online
> 
> **hongbro** EXPOSED
> 
> **gyu.don** they were just a pair of socks i swear!!
> 
> **jihoon_lee** sure
> 
> **gyu.don @justsoon** WHAT DID U TELL HIM

**justsoon** hey jihoonie tell ur mom i said hi

> **gyu.don** DON’T IGNORE ME
> 
> **gyu.don** I’M TELLING UR BOYFRIEND

 

Soonyoung looks up from his phone and calls Wonwoo’s attention. Is Wonwoo his boyfriend? He really has been feeling like they had a label but at the same time he doesn’t think they’ve talked about it properly. 

“Hm?”

“Are you my boyfriend?” He asks.

Wonwoo raises an eyebrow. “You’re the one who asked me to be in the first place.”

“What?” Soonyoung’s jaw drops. “When did _that_ happen?”

“Fun things happen when you’re drunk. Shame you don’t remember, it was back during Christmas season, too.” 

He feels at a loss for words, all this time thinking that they didn’t officially have a relationship status when in fact they weren’t _just_ dating for the past month. Wonwoo stretches his arms out, clearly unfazed, and rests his head on the shocked boy’s shoulder.

Wonwoo’s phone buzzes and when Soonyoung looks at the screen, Mingyu’s name appears.

_**Kim Mingyu:**  tell your boyfriend to stop ignoring me i demand answers_

Soonyoung reaches over to turn off the screen. “Don’t mind him,” he gently takes the phone from Wonwoo’s hand and puts it aside. _Even Mingyu knows. Am I the only one who didn't?_ “Instead,” he takes his own phone from his pocket, “let’s commemorate this day as our anniversary day, okay?”

After swiping to the camera and snapping a few pictures together, Wonwoo says, “You’re about a month late, but it’s okay.”

“You owe me one, anyway. I saved your ass from Mingyu’s wrath. Don’t tell Jihoon anything anymore, okay?” 

“But—“

“You’ll understand why after Mingyu’s birthday comes around... or if they’re lucky, before that.”

Wonwoo doesn’t protest any longer. He instead sighs, letting the topic go and slowly slips his hand into Soonyoung’s. “Wanna eat out tonight?”

Soonyoung scoffs. “What happened to your paper?”

“I think celebrating our first official day in a relationship is more important than that right now.”

“Well, while you’re not wrong, I could think of _other_ ways to celebrate...”

“Like?”

Soonyoung purses his lips. “Like... well, I mean, there’s that—” he points to the bed, “but eating works, too.” (He realizes now just how distracted they can get.)

“Until what time did you say you’ll keep me in check? Four? We have lot's of time. Let’s just do both, my treat,” Wonwoo suddenly winks, an occurrence so rarely seen that Soonyoung can’t hold back a laugh at how adorable it looks. 

“I can do with that. Either way, I’ll be having a meal anyway. No taking it back. _Your treat_.”

“You are unbelievable.”

“Says the one who just dropped his paper for the night to eat and fuck,” Soonyoung stands to put on his coat and wrap his small scarf around his neck.

Wonwoo adjusts the scarf slightly. “I’m just happy to be with you.”

“Right back at you.”

* * *

They part at the bus stop the next morning. Soonyoung doesn’t have a class until ten o’clock, but Wonwoo had to leave before eight to get to his class on time. He barely made it to the end of his paper the night (morning?) before with only three hours of sleep.

“Three is better than none,” Wonwoo shrugs. Soonyoung’s light brown hoodie looks a little bit bigger on him than it does on Soonyoung, but they both agree that it doesn’t matter anyway. Under a coat, it looks all the same (except to them).

Soonyoung waves him off until the bus leaves. He finally breathes a deep sigh of relief, still shaken by waking up next to Wonwoo’s way too beautiful face and helping him get ready to leave.

“I’ll never get used to that...” he mutters.

**♡ wonuwu **♡****

_Hey, I just got to school_  
_I forgot to ask you to do something_  
07:51

 _what is it?_  
07:51

 _Send me the picture we took yesterday_  
_The one on the couch where you’re smiling and I’m not_  
07:52

 _sure no problem_  
_but don’t you want ones where we’re both smiling???_  
07:52

 _You can send those too if you want_  
07:52

 _The one I asked for is just the one that I prefer_  
07:53

 _gotcha_  
_off to class u go_  
_have a good day_  
07:53

 _You too_  
_And thank you_  
07:53

 _for what?_  
07:54

 _Just, you know, for everything_  
07:55

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i am pretty proud of this work, and that says a lot. it’s definitely not the best, but i did my best and i think that matters the most.
> 
> thank you to everyone who has left a kudos, a comment, subscribed, bookmarked, all of that. it really motivated me to continue this so really!!!!! thank you !!!! it was a pretty long journey and i couldn’t have done it without the support so thank you thank you thank you. not sure when i’ll see you again thanks to studies but i will return for sure :) cheers to soonwoo folks
> 
> i made a twitter (@ao3undoubtful) if anyone’s interested and uhhh hmu i guess bcs i’m lonely
> 
> p.s. stream call call call !


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